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FEATURE STORIES
by Joey Leoni & Allie Kindred
In a world that is driven by social norms, students with disabilities are always working to overcome challenges that they face on a daily basis.
One of those students is Kyle McRorey, junior, who was born pre-maturely without the ability to see. McRorey is still highly involved in school with his participation in choir and with his academic achievements.
“I’m just trying to live life to the fullest,” McRorey said.
McRorey has also been playing piano for the past four years. He is able to play based on his ability to pick up a song by ear.
He walks by using a cane and can read and write by using Braille, which is a system of raised dots that can be felt so that the vision-impaired can read.
Kyle is also a fan of learning new information.
“I like to research things. Education is continuous, and life is just a constant learning process,” McRorey said.
He is involved in a social group for kids with social problems to bond and get connected as well.
McRorey plans to go to Johnson County Community College to continue his education after he graduates from high school.
Another student with a different challenge is Mike Hesser, junior. He is a deaf student who also faces difficulties in his everyday life.
“It’s hard to communicate with my peers and teachers when my interpreter is not with me,” Hesser said.
Hesser, as well as McRorey, is thoroughly involved with school activities. He has been an active part of the debate and forensics team.
He is able to perform these activities by using his interpreter or other means of communication.
“The activities have provided skills in many ways to communicate with people who can hear,” Hesser said.
He also participated as the football manager, a position he hopes to continue next year.
Most students with disabilities just want to “fit-in” with other students.
“Hard-of-hearing people are just like hearing people. Deaf people can do anything except hear,” Hesser said.
Hesser plans to continue going forward. He wants to go to college to become a lawyer and be highly involved in the political field.
Likewise, Nick Collins, sophomore, faces the challenges of his disability known as cerebral palsy.
It is a disorder of the nervous system resulting from brain damage at or before the time of birth.
“The difficulties I face with my disorder are mainly muscle fatigue,” Collins said.
However, Collins doesn’t let that get in the way. He still participates in normal activities like his physical education class and other outside of school pastimes.
Like other kids with disabilities, the commons area proves to be little less than a ball of hardships for him.
With so many students trying to make it to class, the students with disabilities sometimes get lost in the rush of things, often making them late to class.
So, what really can be seen from these students is a willingness to live life the best they can.
Even though they have disabilities, they still love to do the things normal students can do.
They can still read, run, hang with friends and play sports.
Being disabled is just another label of society. In reality, these students are not disabled at all. They are just model students who out-perform the social norms of the society in which they live.
by Kristen Oyer
Drug and alcohol use at school has existed for as long as most people can remember. While some students and teachers have found it to be a problem, others may rarely hear of or come in contact with anyone who drinks or does drugs.
Students were asked about whether or not they hear about or see drugs and alcohol and how easy it would be to obtain drugs if they wanted them. Their responses are listed below.
Taylor Marlow, senior: “Drug and alcohol use is very prominent. I’ve seen people buying or using drugs at school.
I’ve never actually seen people drinking at school, but I’ve heard of it. I hear about people drinking alcohol to get through the school day. People have ‘Thirsty Thursday’ on block days because they can’t survive an hour and a half of certain classes.”
Katie Darby, junior: “I’ve heard that people do [drugs], but I don’t really hang out with those people. I’ve seen someone selling and buying drugs once.”
Anonymous male junior: “Students definitely talk openly about [drugs and alcohol] at school, even in front of teachers. Most teachers don’t really care.”
Abby Pifer, sophomore: “Of course there’s lots of drug use. Anywhere you go there’s drug use. I have seen and heard about drugs at school. It’s a universal problem, not just at school.”
Allison Whitfield, senior: “The only really big thing I’ve heard about drug use at South is when one of the band members got caught with drugs in their band locker. I don’t really hear that much about it because I don’t really hang out with people like that. You hear people saying ‘so and so came to school drunk,’ but how much of that is just a rumor?”
Brandon Cleveland-Soter, sophomore: “People talk about pot-smokers going into the auditorium or up by the lights in the theatre to smoke. In fact, I remember one incident when I was in jazz walking to get cymbals and there were two people walking out with their hoods up. They looked all dazed and confused and it smelled like pot so bad that
I left the auditorium and stood out in the hall. On a daily basis there are so many people who are talking about it.
They’ll swap stories of instances when they were under the influence, even in front of teachers who just ignore it.”
Anonymous male junior: “There’s a lot of drug use at South. There are a lot of drug dealers and a lot of partying.
I’ve seen people selling drugs. If I wanted to call someone, it’d be easy to get drugs. It’s just a phone call away.”
by Tess Hart
Drug use among students has always been a big problem in high schools across the country. According to the Institute of Drug Abuse, abusing prescription drugs is on the rise.
“I think drug usage here hasn’t grown but has morphed from year to year,” Stephanie Allegre, social worker, said.
According to Allegre, just a few years ago ecstasy was a major drug used but now prescription drugs are more popular.
“I think drugs are present, but they’re not overwhelming. Like, you hear about it, but it’s avoidable and you can work around it. As a student it’s definitely your personal choice; you’re not pressured into it here,” Abbie Gaylord, sophomore, said.
With the evident use of drugs at schools comes the possibility of getting caught.
“Students are usually caught by other classmates reporting them or being seen using outside of school. The use of drug dogs has also helped us catch students,” Joel Flaschsbarth, SRO officer, said.
If students are caught using drugs, they will be arrested and charged in the district attorney’s office as well as get suspended from all school activities. Also, if caught on school grounds, they can get anywhere from a six month suspension to an expulsion.
One problem the district faces is not having a very reliable way of dealing with drugs. Allegre believes that the only way the district can decrease drug use in the student body is to scare the students out of using drugs by having higher consequences or more ways to get caught. At the same time, she wants students to be comfortable at school and not worried about being under suspicion.
The school does many things to try to decrease the number of students who use illegal substances. A major way is through the Clean and Sober group which is run by David Brown, the director of Avenues to Recovery. The group meets once a week during the last part of seminar. It is totally voluntary, but students need a parent’s permission to join.
Every week, the group has about 10 to 15 students who participate confidentially. The group is paid for by grant money. Friends, the courts or students struggling with drugs can refer people to the group.
A student does not have to have a problem with drugs himself but can join the group if he has family members with addiction issues and wants support. To join, a student can contact Allegre, the school’s social worker, by leaving her a note in her mailbox in the office or emailing her at sallegreos@olatheschools.com.
“The purpose of the group is to support sobriety and talk about the obstacles that get in the way of being clean and sober. It helps students come up with other coping mechanisms besides self-medicating,” stated Allegre, who helps with the group.
Both Allegre and Flaschsbarth agree that there is no doubt that everyone needs to be working to fix the problem.
Students should not be afraid to anonymously turn in others because in the end, they will be helping both that student and their school.
Wether you are walking through the commons or the down halls, drug use is prominent in students’ lives. The school is putting forth the effort to eliminate drug use, and sober up the school.
by Grace Wernicke
“Age doesn’t matter,” said an anonymous sophomore student. “It’s really easy. You can pull it off in school if you really want to.”
What is he talking about?
Drugs. Substance abuse among students.
While it may seem like everybody, or nobody, is using, depending on the circle of friends a student ‘hangs’ with, the reality is that over one third of the students are.
From Nov. 18, 2009, to Feb. 18, 2010, there were 63 drug/narcotic offenses within Johnson County schools.
Four offenses belong to the Blue Valley schools, nine from the Shawnee Mission schools, and fifty from the Olathe schools.
The much higher number of offenses in the Olathe schools are because there is a much stricter, no-tolerance Drug Abuse program.
“Each offense in an Olathe school is treated as a criminal offense,” Sgt. David Wessling of the Shawnee P. D. said.
“This means that the student will be arrested, and treated as if the offense was committed outside the school. The punishment is higher, and by that we have higher means of protecting our students.”
And this is the way that most adults like it.
Susan C. Smith, Shawnee police officer, added, “Other schools treat the offense internally with OSS or even expulsion. Olathe schools have much higher standards for their students.”
While officers are working to decrease the number of offenses, students are still ‘doing it’.
“Throughout the day I would say I have at least five connections [where I can get drugs], ” the sophomore said.
And he isn’t the only one.
Some of the reasons are curiosity, peer pressure, and addiction. The reasons adults give us are advertising, culture, and because they’re ‘oh-so-easy’ to come by. And while these may be reasons, they’re not as forced as people think.
“I don’t use because of the music I listen to. People don’t understand that. It’s just what I do,” said a female junior student.
As for the recent news in Olathe, Representative Rob Olson has now legally banned K-2, a drug similar to marijuana.
“I was mad,” the sophomore student said. “I had to literally give all of mine away. I [already] thought we should legalize marijuana.” To him, it felt like the government was taking a step backward.
“The government could raise a lot of money to [legally] help the economy. And believe me, it could be taxed very high and people would still buy it,” the junior girl said.
However, while it may seem logical to many students, the acute and chronic health effects, such as impairment of cognitive functioning, and airway injury, lung inflammation, and impaired pulmonary defense again infection from persistent use.
And these side effects are just not worth that short-term happiness.
by Kylie Diviney
Most students walk, drive or carpool to school. Will Cunningham, senior, is one of the few who does not. Cunningham rides the Jo, Johnson County Transit, to and from school every day.
Cunningham started riding the Jo about five months ago when his car broke down. As of now, his car is fixed and drivable but he still “ride[s] the Jo to save on gas money.”
Every day, Cunningham drives from his home in Kansas City, Mo. to the Shawnee Mission Jo stop. From here, his bus leaves around 7:22 a.m. and arrives at the stop across from the school at about 7:50 a.m.
Not much walking is involved in Cunningham’s commute to and from school. He drives to and from his first stop and only has to walk across the street to get to the Olathe stop.
“I don’t really like getting to school too late and sometimes I do,” Cunningham said. This is one of his only concerns about riding the Jo. Cunningham did not originally like riding the Jo, but got used to it because of the money it saved.
Most people miss the bus sometime, right? What happens if Cunningham misses the Jo? It has “never [happened]. [The Jo] is my ticket to school and home.”
Cunningham is still riding the Jo today. He pays $2 in the morning and $2 in the afternoon. For an entire 5-day week, it costs Cunningham $20. He rides about 20-25 min. each way, depending on traffic.
Only about seven to eight people normally ride the Jo with Cunningham. Most of these people work for Garmin.
Cunningham only uses the Jo as a source of transportation to and from school. In general, he has learned to get used to the experience of riding the Jo, mainly because of the savings.
by Grace Wernicke
The Jo is a mythical creature.
It roams Johnson County, rarely seen and impossible to catch.
Regardless, Ethan Beals, Emily Atteberry, Trevor James, editors, and I, a reporter, decided to try to take a spin on this wild ride.
We met in the school’s back parking lot at 4: 15 p.m. Then, we proceeded to drive to Price Chopper at the intersection of 151st and Mur-len, hoping that this would be our final destination.
Piling into Beals’ car, we started on our way.
“You guys remembered your money, right? Fare is $2,” Beals asked.
“You didn’t tell us we needed money!” replied James.
“Well, how did you think you were getting on the bus?!” Beals asked, quickly doing a U-turn to return the Price Chopper.
“This is why we left so early,” Atteberry said.
The Jo, leaves Wal-Mart at 4:55 p.m. to supposedly stop at the Great Mall, Garmin and finally at Price Chopper.
Arriving at Wal-Mart over 15 minutes early, Beals parked and we sat and people-watched for 10 minutes while searching for the Jo.
“Do you think we should go inside and ask somebody?” I asked. “We have no idea where the stop is.”
So the four headed inside to approach the Wal-Mart greeter with our question.
“Hey,” James said as he reached to grab the greeter’s hand, “Do you know where the Jo stops?”
Unfortunately he didn’t and sent us on our way.
Not wanting to miss the bus, we headed outside to take a look for ourselves.
“Hey! I see it!” Beals exclaimed.
“That’s a recycle bin, Ethan,” Atteberry replied, pointing to the large purple recycle bin across the parking lot.
“Oh, there it is!” yelled James, and the four of us turned to watch the Jo… pull away?
Yes, the bus drove down 135th street, not even hesitating to stop.
“Well, maybe we can catch it at the next stop,” Atteberry said.
Once again, we piled into the car and took off.
“Wait, what about that girl,” Atteberry said. I turned to look where she was pointing.
A lone woman was standing in an empty corner of the parking lot, looking as if she was waiting for something, or someone.
“I’m going to pull around. Trevor, roll down your window and ask her, just don’t be creepy!” Beals said.
So as we circled her, James in all his glory, rolled down his window, and with his long hair, dark sunglasses, and scary-looking hat, asked her if she was waiting for the Jo.
“No,” she replied.
So Beals pulled out of the parking spot and continued driving as we discussed what to do.
We finally decided on simply returning to Price Chopper and trying to get a few pictures before we called it a night.
So we drove back and sat in Beals’ car until… WE SAW IT!
Atteberry grabbed her camera and James jumped out of the car, running down the sidewalk, with everyone following him.
We had finally managed to capture the beast.
And it stopped. In the middle of 151st and Mur-Len. And then proceeded to drive off.
Almost as a final thought I looked to Atteberry and asked, “Who’s going to tell Ms. Kohl we missed the bus?”
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